SPOILER!!: Sophie

Awwww Leah was sorted! Offering the girl a welcoming yet slightly disappointed smile at her being in a different house, Sophie patted the spot next to her. "Aw, see, it wasn't so bad after all though, right? You made it through, no fainting! Here, have a cookie - this is Cat and Mo here, by the way, they're the coolest people at this school. Eat, though, if you still feel faint." Being the nervous fainter firstie would probably follow poor Leah all her years. "Congrats on Hufflepuff, though. You'll fit in well there. Lots of nice people. Common room right near the kitchens for easy snacking. S'a good deal." That was the only part of being a Hufflepuff that made Sophie wish she was one.

Aww, Sophie is so nice! One of the best people Leah had met in her short time at school, actually. The girl took a bite of the cookie her friend gave and immediately felt a warm sort of feeling.

"Thanks. I hope I fit in well. I already know plenty of Hufflepuff people." Leah said, taking another bite. "Hey wait, how do you know about the Hufflepuff common room? We aren't allowed in other house common rooms too, are we?" She asked, eyeing Sophie suspiciously.

SPOILER!!: Cat

She glanced at the girl who Sophie seemed to have taken under her wing, and felt a little bit of pride. Cat had definitely taken Sophie under her wing last year, and now she was returning that to someone else. That was the sweetest thing! She wiggled her fingers at the first year and offered more cookies for that side of the table.

"Hi, Cat. I'm Leah." Leah said, grinning at the girl Sophie introduced. She giggled when Cat wiggled her fingers and took another cookie from the plate the girl offered. Now she was feeling quite full and was worried about the feast later on.

Alex entered the Great Hall thinking this was her last Start of Term Feast ever. She remembered her first Feast and how excited and nervous she had been. Ah well........As she made her way to the Ravenclaw table she looked around hoping to see some familiar faces. The Great Hall was really filling up fast.

Alex reached her house table and saw Mika and Huxley sitting next to each other. Nearby was that boy Kace from the train and the little Pygmy Puff girl. She sat down near Mika and Huxley, giving them a little wave. They seemed to be deep in conversation and she didn't want to interrupt them. Alex tried to discretely glance around, wondering where Sander might be.

The Grey Lady was sitting quietly as she watched the groups of Ravenclaws file in and begin sitting and talking together, awaiting the Headmistress's speech. The one in the middle that was trying his bets to recruit everyone for the team was their Quidditch Captain, correct? She remembered seeing him around the Common Room. The Lady smiled faintly at him.


A girl had brought treats for the students who's robes were trimmed in blue but her robes didn't reflect the same color thread. "You are not in Ravenclaw House." She spoke mildly, not a question but a statement. She seemed to be getting along well with the others, which had been the case for the most part that Helana could remember. Slytherins and Ravenclaws had always gotten along rather well. "I'm happy to see you find enjoyment here."

"Good evening Amelia." The Lady said calmly, as she watched another young student join their ranks after the Sorting Hat exclaimed the name of her mother's noble House. "That Castle was quiet. I spent the time reading the new books the Librarian had received. I trust you're summer was spent well?"

The young Ravenclaw she had heard quite a bit of last term while in the Common Room was here again, this time as a second year. She was joining in with the conversation of the Slytherin and Captain with--

"Dear, please do not shove food in your mouth. It's not lady-like." She reached a ghostly hand into her bag and pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at her mouth to sign that the girl should follow suit.


Two other new students, one sounded as if she was supposed to go to the American Academy in Salem that the current Ravenclaw Head of House had attended. Her accent was similar but different in slight ways that accents tended to be.

"Welcome to you both to Ravenclaw House. And dear, this school is much different than others schools. It's quite exquisite really. If you wish to learn more about it I suggest reading 'Hogwarts, A History', it's a timeless treasure." Much like Hogwarts itself.

There was another new face that had joined them for the first time but it was not one eleven years of age. Helena looked at her intrigued but polite, and decided to return her greeting. "Hello, and welcome to Ravenclaw House."
Hopefully the girl wouldn't ask her if she was a ghost. She'd take that query from a first year quietly but this young woman was quite old enough to have seen someone of her stature.

A quiet student, a trait that wasn't shy in Ravenclaws. Quiet only meant the brain was working rather than the mouth. The Lady's mouth turned into a small smile as she nodded her head in greeting.

"Huxley, wonderful to see you again. And no the Common Room stands resolute, the same as it was last year." And fine in her opinion, change wasn't something that she saw as completely necessary all the time.

Kace was looking around the ravenclaw table and then he saw Mika there. He must have just missed her. He smiled and went over to her since she waved him over. He found the seat she was patting down for him to sit.

He sat down and said, "Hey Mika figured i would find you here." he grinned. "It is kind of weird because i never sat here before..." he said looking around. He even noticed the house ghost here and was amazed at what she looked like.

Then he noticed Alex was here. He met him on the train. He smiled and returned the wave. "Hey Alex...you wanna meet Dusty?" he asked him holding him in his hands. Then Dusty was crawling onto his shoulder trying to look around and being cute and all.

Mel sat down at the Ravenclaw table after looking around. She had been wanting to get sorted into the house with her friend but that didnt happen it seemed. Melek saw the house ghost and smiled, waving at her. Mel nibbled on her thumb nail out of nervousness. She looked around, hoping to see anyone she knew or any kind face. Melek felt really small and just wanted this feast to be over with but the speech hasnt happen yet... to her knowledge at least. Mel looked around at the different tables, trying to see if she knew anyone but she barely knew anyone other than Anna and a few she had met in Diagon Alley. She wished that she had put a pocket in her cloak's pocket so that she could read but she was bookless at the moment, all of her stuff was probably at the dorm room. Melek sighed and looked down, feeling lonely and already missing Turkey. She would rather be at her parents' house and being home-schooled but her parents gave up on her.

Hungry. No breakfast and only snacks on the train meant Charlie was hungry. Her logic had been to save room for the feast, but now that she was sat looking at her own reflection in the shiny silverware she was regretting that decision.

She prayed, as she pushed her hair behind her left ear and chewed on the end of her pencil, that the sorting would finish soon and that the speech wouldn't go on for too long. She did occasionally raise her eyes to the gaggle of new people, hoping to see some happy faces and that the new 'Claws looked nice.

But eh. Company, someone?

Considering they'd parted ways on the train, Els had wanted to make sure Charlie had made it to the castle alive and hadn't been kidnapped by friend-stealing Delilah. As soon as she saw her come in, she'd kept her eye on her and then darted right on over there to make sure she was safe give her attention. FROM THE RIGHT PERSON.

Dropping in beside her friend, Elodie grinned. "I still think you should have been a Hufflepuff, Choo."

OH WAIT. But then she'd be in a dorm with Delilah and that was worse than anything. "But you're a good Ravenclaw." Yes she was.

Sander had decided that he would head on to the other House tables. He was here to make friends and he couldn't just stick with his own house. So he left his House table and decided to hop on over to the Ravenclaws.

Yes he had met some of them already. They were all in his train compartment!! Talk about being surrounded by women...all from Ravenclaw too.

As he walked along the table, he noticed a familiar face. It was his name twin.



Walking over to Alex, he stood next to where she was sitting.

"Hi again, Alex. Remember me? Your name twin? The guy who likes skating?"....and the one who let everyone see his six pack?....Sander couldn't believe that he had actually shown everyone in the compartment that.

"Do you mind if I join you here? I'm trying to get to know as many people in Hogwarts. It doesn't matter what house they come from....and it would be nice to finish our conversation about our families if you want." Sander grinned at her.

Yes he wanted to know what else they had in common.



Sander was waiting for Alex to reply when he saw a younger girl, maybe a first year sitting alone by herself and looking lonely. He definitely knew how that felt. Then he recognized her from the train. She was the girl who had been crying and who had ink on her hands.

Okay....we can't have people sitting alone by themselves with no one to talk to.....so Sander decided he would talk with her. Hopefully, she wouldn't be afraid to talk with a Seventh Year OLD boy.

"Hello. I saw you getting sorted into this house. Remember me? You had some ink on your hands and I was helping you get them off. I don't know whether I introduced myself back then. I'm Sander. " Sander introduced himself.

Sophie looked like she was bummed out for a moment upon seeing Lily, so the seventh year sent an extra smile her way, just kinda to say that it was all good... even though it was Lily's last term at the school. She'd definitely make sure to come back and visit, especially during quidditch season.



This firstie had excellent manners! Hopefully, the kid wasn't too scared after meeting so many older students. Lily could remember back to her first term when she didn't know how to respond to any of the older kids. What a huge change since then... "Let me or any of the older students know if you ever need anything, like help finding where you class is." Lily said with a grin. "Most of us have been in your shoes before."



Mo seemed to be in pretty good spirits, which was good since Lily didn't want the whole term to be about her leaving. "My summer was kinda lame. I spent most of it in Diagon Alley. Yours?" Lily asked Mo, before noticing the arrival of the house ghost.



"Hello Helena! Ready for the new term?" Lily asked the ghost with a smile. It was nice to see a familiar face over and over, even though this would be the last year Lily would get to spend in the castle.



Pausing for a moment, Lily glanced down the table to see if she recognized any faces. A little ways down the table, the redhead saw a girl looking terribly nervous. Trying to catch the girl's attention, Lily waved her down to sit with the group in the middle of the table. There really was no need to sit alone on such a great day to get to know other people.

Caelen sat down at the table with a big smile on her face. She was a Ravenclaw! Did she know what that meant? Not in the least. She knew that this was supposed to be her "family" inside the castle, but what did you have to be to end up as a Ravenclaw? The eleven year old realized she didn't have a clue. She felt a strong urge to write her brother a note and ask, but she wasn't sure when she would have a chance. Could she find the answer in a book?

Her red hair was a bit messy from the sorting hat, but she didn't care. Not being a Slytherin would please her mom. Nothing against the house, but her mom was kind of biased house wise. It was all her brother's fault for this bias anyway. He was the one who turned out bad, and from reading about amazing Slytherins, the kid wasn't so sure it was the house's fault anyway. She would have to make more conclusions as the year went on. Another reason for the journal. Maybe she would make this her pet project.

Looking around the Hall, Caelen smiled widely again. The castle looked sooo big! Her smile grew wider. This was like a new adventure! And she loved adventure. Actually, she loved everything that didn't involve a boring old routine. She hated routines! And the outside looked interesting too. Nicely kept at least. She would have to explore.

Also, was their going to be food? She felt sick to her stomach from just eating candy all day. A shoved down breakfast and candy. Apparently they didn't have time for lunch. today. If she got sick, she was blaming Nate again. Blame him for ALL of the things! She was getting cranky from the sickness and wanted food. She heard Hogwarts was very food heavy. Yes, please!

Trying to distract herself from her rumbling stomach had brought Charlie to the point of trying to decided whether to let her hair continue to grow au natural, or to start dying it again. She twisted a split-ended strand in front of her eyes, getting gozzier and dizzier by the second.

Elodie dropping in beside her proved a more welcome, and fun and all around good distraction, however, and she turned and grinned at her friend. "Well, I suppose so, but blue really is a better colour for me." She motioned to the robes she was donning, and thought about how much she would have liked to be able to wear the yellow ones.

The same house as her close friends was still something she wished for. Not that she was admitting it at any point soon.

"Blue is your colour, yes." It wasn't at all something she'd argue. Yellow was difficult to pull off on a good day, anyways. Elodie made sure to straighten her own robes out quickly, before comparing the two house colours beside one another. Blue was definitely a better colour. Not as good as orange, no. But better than yellow.

She did have something to talk about though. "Maybe you should spend Christmas with us?" For one, Elodie really couldn't picture herself missing a Christmas at home, after thinking about it for a while. And two, she couldn't bear to leave Charlie here to wake up on the 25th with nothing and no one really important.

Not like Els.

Melek glanced up and tilted her head a little. Mel nodded and gave a slight nervous smile. "I do remember you. Nice to meet you, Sander... I'm Melek...but you could call me Mel, I guess..." She nibbled on her thumb nail a little more and looked up at him, "What year are you in? I am a third year... though this is my first year here... I was home-schooled before." She instantly shut up when she realized that she was babbling. Melek casted her eyes down and grew silent, not wanting to annoy an older student. Mel paused and then couldnt help but blurt out, "Are you in this house?" She was hoping so since that means she could know someone in her own house. Melek kept nibbling on her thumb as she grew more and more nervous.



Melek looked up just in time to see someone waving in her direction. She looked around, seeing if the older girl was waving at someone else but then noticed that she was the only one around so Mel meekly got up and went over to the girl. "Hey... ummm... was you waving to me?" Mel gave a slight blush and looked down at her shoes in embarrassment. This girl was the second person to talk to her and she looked almost if not the same age as that guy... named Sander. Melek wanted to run and hide but she made herself look back up at the girl.



Melek looked around and spotted a girl that was just a little younger than her. She sat down with a nervous smile, "hey, I'm Melek or Mel for short. Whats your name?" Mel held out her hand to shake hers. "Sorted into Ravenclaw as well?" Melek smiled, "Im a third year but this is my first year here because i transferred,. Are you a first year or are you a transfer as well or have you beenhere all the years?" She gave a small blush in embarrassment. "Sorry for all the questions... if you havent noticed, I babble when I am nervous and I am really nervous right now..." Mel bit her tongue before she could babble anymore and just looked at the girl.

Alex sat quietly for a while just taking in the sights and sounds of the Feast. Then Kace approached her and offered to introduce her to Dusty. Dusty? She responded,"Hi Kace, sure I'd like to meet Dusty.". Her eyes went up to Kace's shoulder. "Ah......Dusty. He's really cute. How long have you had him?"


Alex saw her new buddy and name twin approach the Ravenclaw table. She couldn't help smiling. "Remember you?", she thought. Are you kidding? She would never forget ANYONE from that train compartment. "Please", she said patting the spot nearest her. "Pull up a chair. I see you got sorted into Hufflepuff. Have you been meeting new people and making lots of new friends?" Alex felt a rumble in her stomach and said, "I can't wait until the food arrives. I'm starving!".

Huh? Someone had just asked her a question. She looked at the asker, who was smiling a nervous smile. The redhead felt a surge of energy flow through her. This was only her third other person besides Nate's family that she met and she was still excited. Well that was putting it lightly. Now that she was meeting another Ravenclaw, she wanted to have her first best friend. That was a girl. The actual spot was taken by someone a year younger than her.

"Yeah." She paused to smile, but more questions started coming. Woah. She was beginning to feel bombarded here. Hopefully the girl didn't mind her lightening round style answers. Because that was the closest thing she thought she could give.

"Oh, you transferred? From what school? And, yeah, I'm an ickle firstie." To borrow a term used from Nate. She was a firstie though, and a rather small one if she did say so herself. She barely clocked in at five feet -it depended where she got measured at- and couldn't gain weight if her life depended on it. But now that she figured that the girl... Mel possibly it happened really fast, was kind of a first year too? Cool, she had someone to be confused with.

She was being apologized to? Of course her aunt taught her how to do this, but she never really apologized to friends. Mostly because Spencer was her only friend and they settled everything with fights until Nate separated them. Another ping of homesickness hit her, and she wished that it would just go away. It wasn't welcome here. At all, thank you very much.

"Um, that's okay, I get shy when I'm nervous." An idea broke through the little red head of hers and she smiled. "What if when we get scared, I let you do all of the talking."

Raven followed her fellow ravens to the table and sat down near the end facing door out of the Hall. She had done the exact same thing in her first term, though with a different reason. At that time she had assumed that Hogwarts would have bullies who would kick her out of the best seats, and so she chose the ones to the back or farthest away to save them the trouble. Now though she knew that Hogwarts was a friendly place. So instead she sat farther away from everyone because most of the seats were taken.

So with no one to talk to, she started putting makeup on her face to make it appear more pale - going along with her new gothic trend. But when the Gray Lady came along she stopped in order to watch her. The gray lady had always interested her.

Lana smiled softly as she bowed her head slight in greeting back to the Grey Lady. The Ravenclaw ghost had always been her favourite house ghost during her time at Hogwarts. Of course, she was extremely biased considering it was her own house, but she never really interacted with the other ghost.

Turning her attention back to her surroundings, she listened to all the chatter around her. There was always something almost electrical around the air during the opening feast. She never truly appreciated it until now. She was actually going to miss it, but she wouldn't allow herself to be sad about it now.

There was no time to be sad. It was just the beginning of the term and there was a whole term of new adventures to have and that's what was going to keep her upbeat about her last year.

Reaching for her water goblet, she continued to scan her own table before glancing around to the neighbouring tables. She hadn't seen her sister since leaving the train and wandered if she should attempt to find her or just wait for after the feast. The opening speech was bound to start at any time and she didn't even want to risk getting in trouble by wandering around in the middle of it.

No way.

She was totally just going to stay seated until the speech and then she would venture to the other tables.

Charlie giggles a little at that, watching Elodie straighten her robes. "I am jealous of you, though - I wish I could pull of yellow all day every day." Because Elodie totally could. Elodie, though, was pretty enough and nice enough to pull off anything if she tried. Yes, definitely jealous.

Blue was closer to purple, though. Hehe, that she was glad of. Red would have been nice, however. But no more thoughts of changing house. Like Lex had said, she was stuck with it, and she'd end up liking it. One way or another.

BEAM. "That's... that's too generous, Els. I... I couldn't.... wouldn't want to impose." No, Elodie had a family. A family who she wasn't going to see for AGES and who she was sure she wanted to spend lots of time with during the holidays.

They didn't want a Charlie interrupting that, did they?

Even so, she couldn't help but grin - such a nice offer, such loooooovely friend. :3

"Scrapper? Sure, that's one adjective you could apply." Mo gave Cat's hair a little tug, along with a cheeky grin. "I have other adjectives. But anyway... I didn't see much of you on the train. Sharky enjoyed the ride alright?"

He made a little face as he asked, a sort of forced good cheer to make up for the fact that he was a little sick about having to leave his pet at home. At least he had the overly-cuddly Sharky and the overly-angsty Titus to keep him company this term. But still. He wanted his cruppy.

"Oh, Bellaire." Mo made a face. He still took the woman's class, but he wasn't a fan. She was much too interested in herself and not at all in the educational process. Of course, that could entirely have been weighted on the fact she'd given him a poor mark last term. "She's... stay out of her way. She's serious about being serious, and she doesn't really have a sense of humor. Lots of professors understand that we're just... young still and learning who we are and how we fit into the world, but she's all business. Just do her class and don't cross her, and you'll be fine."

And it was good to hear the fifth year was hoping to try out. Mo leaned across the table and offered a hearty handshake. "I'll see you on the pitch. What position do you like?"

"Y'know what, Soph... when we get up to the Common Room, I'll braid it for you. Make it all beautiful again. Just ask Cat how good I am at braiding." One of the perks of being the youngest brother with a million and a half women living in his house. He probably could paint nails too, but that was a secret going to his grave.

"Not many Ravenclaw firsties this term. You think it means the world is getting stupider?" Not for really, but... for really?

"By all means," Mo agreed as he took another cookie from the box Cat had given him. "Homework and classwork are vital, plus you might find you like Gobstones or some other activity better. It wouldn't hurt to try out, though, since you can always change your mind later." And since you couldn't change your mind about making time for Quidditch once the tryouts had ended. He hoped she'd at least come.

Ravenclaws could use a little hope. And a Little Hope.

Sander smiled at the younger girl. He just wanted to give her a reassuring hug, like he would always do with his younger sisters when they were feeling sad or insecure, and tell her everything would be alright. But he didn't.

First he didn't want her thinking that he was some kind of perv and second, she might not like getting hugs...especially from strange boys such as he.

So instead, he replied to her questions.

"Hello Mel...now that's a nice name. I'm a Seventh year. I transferred from Durmstrang. No unfortunately I'm not in the same house as you. I got sorted into Hufflepuff, but that doesn't mean we can't still be friends and talk with each other when we see each other," he smiled reassuringly at her.

Sander could keep his eyes off her nail nibbling. He knew that was also a sign of nervousness. He hoped that one day soon, she would no longer have the need to do that.

....then Alex spoke up and Sander turned to hear what she had to say.



Sander smiled gratefully and say down when she offered him a seat. He still wished he had been sorted into Ravenclaw instead.

"Regrefully not as fast as I hoped to but hey the school term hasn't started yet, so I'm still optimistic that I'll make more friends before I leave here." he admitted to her.

Yes friends like her would be definitely be good.

Sander laughed when Alex said she was starving. He had to be honest he was getting hungry too.

"So what happens at this feast. I now know about the sorting hat ceremony and that's almost done with. Do we get to eat after that?"

Please say yes...stop rumbling tummy!!

"You know the staff here. So whom should I ask permission from regarding the freezing of a small portion of the lake for my skating rink? Would that be the Headmistress?" he asked.

Sander hoped that his request would be approved or he would have to find another way to exercise and practice.

She smiled at the girl, "Yep and i was homeschooled before and ickle firsite? What is that?" Mel gave the girl a confused look then giggled at her idea. "That sounds... like a good idea? Hmmm... do you want to be friends?" Melek beamed, "I heard that opposites attract... but is that just in relationships like boyfriend and girlfriend or is it in friends too?" She scratched her chin, thinking, "Anyways, I like you." Mel nodded, "You are funny..." Melek looked at her and beamed another smile. "I am glad that we are in the same house and that we met!" She messed with her journal and quill that was in her pocket. Melek looked around then started to drink from her water goblet.



Melek watched as a girl tried to make herself look paler... or at least that is what it looked like she was doing. Mel came over to the girl, "What cha doing? Are you trying to look like the pretty ghost lady? If so, I think it would be an insult or annoying to her... I mean it can be seen as mocking the ghost, no? Why would you want to look dead anyways? Isnt life suppose to be upbeat and happy?" She tilted her head and crossed her arms, looking at the girl. A frown appeared on her face and she shook her head, sitting down.



Melek looked around and sat down by an older student, "Hey..." She gave the older girl a meek look and then messed with her own water goblet, taking a few drinks here and there. Mel took out her journal, quill and ink and started to write in it, trying to calm her nerves down while waiting for the speech to start so that she can eat. Melek was starving despite eating a good breakfast and then candy on the train ride. Her legs swung as she wrote her thoughts down into her journal.



She beamed at him, "Thanks!" A pout came to her lips which wasnt normal. "Oh a seventh year? That means we can only hang out one year." Dislike showed on her face at the idea, "You are a transfer too!" Melek went back to beameing again until he head that he was a hufflepuff, "Oh that that is too bad that we arent in the same house but i agree! We can be friends and talk as well!" Mel kept nibbling on her fingernail and looking up at him in a way that only a young girl could look up to an older boy that might become like a brother to her.

Sander smiled when Mel began to smile.....that's it girl. Keep smiling. Your face lights up and you look even more prettier. Soon you'll be breaking lots of boys hearts.

"Unfortunately, yes we will only have one year to hang out, but hey one can lots of stuff in one year. We just got to make every day count." he smiled down at her.

Holding up his right hand, he stuck out his little finger.

"Here's let's make a pinky promise that we'll make the best of this one year. You can show me things and I can do the same." he coaxed the girl to make that promise with him.

"Yes I'm a transfer too....a very big Transfer...unlike you." he teased the younger girl.

Sander realized that Mel reminded him of his younger sisters. He smiled to himself. He missed them a lot. Then he looked down at Mel, well she wanted to she could be his sister while he was here in Hogwarts. He would keep watch over her and make sure that she smiled more each day.

Els stuck her tongue out. "I'm just that kind of person." On her good days, anyway. "But don't get me started on you, madam. You think Tam would have kept you on all summer if you didn't have a decent look?" It was ridiculous to think not. Her godmother wasn't that picky, but to stay as her frontrunner and favourite all summer, WHILST she was pregnant and grumpy, was something special. Charlotta Czesanka. Exactly.

"Speaking of," she wondered, leaning a little in. "How did the end of summer go? How was Paris? Did pregzilla grump at you? Did she demand cucumber? Did you see the tower? Did you go to shows? Tell me things." Considering Elodie was meant to have been there herself, she hadn't done much at all. The London store had seen her twice over the holidays. Camping with her boyfriend had taken priority, obvs.

And with the topic of summer right and surely over, Elodie's face softened and she frowned a bit. "Could I bribe you with the fact we have dinner with T's family on Christmas Eve? In our pyjamas?" Yeah. She went there.

"After the Sorting Ceremony, we mix and mingle for a while. Then the Headmistress makes her speech and after that we can finally eat. Let's hope we get to that soon", Alex said with a hopeful look.

When Sander asked about obtaining permission for his skating adventure, Alex thought for a moment. "I'm not sure whether you should ask the Headmistress or maybe the Groundskeeper. I guess it couldn't hurt to start at the top. If the Headmistress is OK with it, you shouldn't have any problems."
Alex thought about how cool it would be to skate outdoors. She hoped that Sander would be able to get his wish.

Raven was surprised when one of the girls came over and sat next to her and started talking. Pleasantly surprised. "Oh I'm not trying to look like gray lady, I wouldn't want to seem disrespectful. I'm trying to look pale to stand in contrast with my black hair and black scarf. It looks a little gothic." She shrugged. "It's just my style for now, I might drop it if I'm not happy with it." Then she put away all the makeup. "I'm Raven, fourth year. Pleasure to meet you." And she put out her hand.